Pelosi: McConnell plan has 'merit'

Top House Democrats on Wednesday gave Senate Republicans’ last-ditch plan to raise the debt ceiling mixed reviews.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said the proposal, unveiled Tuesday by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, has some “merit.” The plan would lift the debt ceiling in three increments unless Congress stops an increase with a two-thirds majority – allowing Republicans to vote against raising the debt ceiling without risking default.

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“What Leader McConnell has put on the table recognizes that we must pass … lift the debt ceiling, that we must do that,” Pelosi told reporters Wednesday. “So it has that merit in that it says, what are we talking about here? We have to pass this.”

Pelosi dodged the specifics of the proposal, saying she hasn’t seen its details. But her No. 2, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, on Wednesday called the McConnell plan a “punt” – though he said it would get the job done in extending the nation’s credit line.

“The McConnell deal doesn’t get it behind us,” Hoyer said on the Bill Press show. “We need to give a sense of certainty, a sense that the democratic government of the United States of America can work, and that we can make decisions – not punt one more time.”

Pelosi on Wednesday also defended President Barack Obama from Republican charges that he has used scare tactics on the continuing debt-ceiling negotiations, such as warning that Social Security checks could stop coming on Aug. 3 if the limit isn’t increased.

Obama has “listened, listened, listened, and listened to them talk about what their concerns are,” Pelosi said, calling Obama’s efforts to engage Republicans “unprecedented.”

Other Democrats echoed Pelosi on Wednesday.

“I think the president has gone out of his way to not demagogue on these issues,” said Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.)